Audacious marauding
by TinyMoons
Summary: After using the time turner, Hermione finds herself in Hogwarts at a time when Harry's parents are still alive, and catches one of the Marauder's eye


**Disclaimer**: The characters in this story belong to, and are create by, J.K Rowling. I am not making any kind of profit from this, I just write for the fun and pleasure of it.

I do, however, own my imagination and I welcome you to it :)

"Um, hello, can I have two Butterbeers, please?" Muttered Hermione as she pulled off her soaked gloves between her teeth and ridded them from her frozen hands. "Of course." Replied Madame Rosmerta with a weak smile, Hermione thought that she suppressed the urge to cry, her once curly hair hung loosely down her face making her look pre-eminently miserable. Maybe it was just Hermione's imagination; after all she took upon everything in a solemn tone recently, the end of term exams were drawing closer and she still only had produced 16-inches of parchment for her Potions assignment.

She shot a feverish glance at her bag that she perched on the seat beside her when she heard a dreamy voice say, "That's a curious amount of books to carry around." Making Hermione jump. Seemingly oblivious to Hermione's surprise, Luna only gazed around the bar, taking in by the new rich surroundings. "Beautiful, isn't it? I wish it could always be as interesting, you know, not only for Christmas." She sighed. The Three Broomsticks was indeed illuminated with winter's gold and red, enchanted snow adorned a vast pine tree making the place appear smaller. "Oh, Hello Luna, I didn't see you there, how are you?" to this she didn't receive a reply and to Hermione's relief Madame Rosmerta returned with the Butterbeers, breaking the heavy silence.

Heaving her bag over her shoulder and collecting her Butterbeers, Hermione focused her attention around The Three Broomsticks to find some seats, preferably somewhere she could get some peace to look over her notes. Although she never particularly enjoyed Luna's company, she asked if she wanted to wait with her and to her relief she declined, something to do with harvesting Gulping Plimpies in the lake before they went out of season. "They like to nibble on your feet so be careful if you go swimming." Luna warned her, before retreating gracefully out into the snow sending her golden hair dancing in the wind.

After reading a just few passages from Confronting the Faceless she thrust the book back into her bag in a temper scowling at the other noisy Hogwarts students for having permitted themselves a treat to Hogsmeade for the holidays. Gulping down her Butterbeer, she finally seen him coming towards her shivering and blushing from the cold and wiping the condensation from his glasses. "We haven't come here to revise, have we Hermione?" Harry asked nervously when he spotted stakes of parchment lying around the table untidily but Hermione just shot him a glare and Harry sat sheepishly down beside her. "I already bought you some Butterbeer." She indicated to the glass and took another mouthful of her own. Harry took his earnestly muttering thanks, there was something troubling Hermione so it was best to leave her to think, he thought.

"Oh Harry, I'm sorry, I'm just so stressed out with the exams, there's just so much to do!" She proclaimed after a few moments silence, making Harry snort his Butterbear.

"Don't worry about it," He choked "The exams aren't that important this year, next year is when the fun starts, I mean it's only after our O.W.L's and look how well you did in them, I mean me and Ron…" But he trailed off when he noticed Hermione wince at the sound of his name. Of course there had been more then exams on her mind.

"Sorry, I didn't mean-" He began

"Oh don't be stupid, Harry, talk about him all you want to I don't care, I'm perfectly cheerful, I'm not asking you not to be friends with Ronald anymore just because he's a complete ass, in fact I'd love to hear what you've been up to all day" She rambled, forcing a smile on her face that would fool no-one.

"Um, alright, well we spent a lot of time at Zonko's joke shop and then to Honeydukes and got you some treacle fudge and pepper Imps, because, well, I know you like them, here." He handed her a brightly coloured paper bag tied securely with delicate bowed ribbons in recognition of Christmas, it was really quite pretty. Harry was horrified to see tears emerge from her eyes, he tried to think of something comforting to say, but thought of nothing expect, "You know, Ron didn't shut up about you, kept going on about being an idiot…" But Hermione only busied herself with tidying away her notes. "So, um, any luck with Professor Slughorn?"

"Oh no, not yet, he just keeps avoiding me." Harry knew that this meeting would have been fairly awkward. For weeks now Ron and Hermione had been falling out and arguing so that Harry had to make separate time for each of his two friends, which was proving to be tiresome. Ron wasn't particularly happy with Harry leaving him to meet up with Hermione in The Three Broomsticks exclaiming "She's mental, better watch yourself mate, she might have your head and all." He had a funny suspicion Hermione felt the same towards Ron. He looked into her face which was now blushed with emotion, her brows furrowed with deliberation, he wished that things would go back to normal, as normal as they ever could be anyway.

Outside the Gryffindor common room the sky grew dark, a purplish haze suffused the glassy blue. Hermione sat alone beside the open fire whilst everyone else had said their goodnights and toddled to their dormitories to be greeted with a dreamless sleep. After what seemed like an eternity, Hermione set down her essay that she'd been closely scrutinising and collapsed into her chair, closing her eyes. The heat emanating from the fire was making her nauseous, but nothing more so then thinking of Ron.

She wished she hadn't called him a _gormless cock-up_…in turn she hoped that _munter_ wasn't the usual term Ron thought of Hermione as. She cringed at this; he mustn't have meant it surely; still she would have felt better if he didn't flail around the common room shouting 'oh really!' at fellow Gryffindors in a shrill voice trying to impersonate and embarrass her. What was more she was already thoroughly stressed with assignments and revision, she didn't have time for Ron being a baby. _Time_. If only I had time, she thought. Then it came to her, throwing her eyes open she quickly stood up and climbed the stairs to the girl's dormitory, maybe I am mental, she thought echoing Ron's words. The room was dark, expect for the glow of the desolate stars illuminating from the low windows. Tiptoeing over to the foot of her bed, careful not to wake her snoring classmates, she threw open her trunk and fetched a golden chain on of which hung an hourglass pendant that glowed audaciously in its glassy intricacy.

"Maybe tomorrow." she reasoned out loud. "After all, I don't want to prove Ron completely right." She undressed and pulled on her cool pyjamas, tucking away the time-turner under her pillow safely and sliding under her sheets neglecting the curtains of her bed allowing the vastness of the room to envelope her. Studying the shadows on the walls, she aloud her thoughts to swallow her until she finally drifted off.


End file.
